Morgan Stanley Cuts Merchants Bancorp (NASDAQ:MBIN) Price Target to $45.00

Merchants Bancorp (NASDAQ:MBIN) had its price target trimmed by Morgan Stanley from $47.00 to $45.00 in a report issued on Thursday morning,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has an equal weight rating on the stock.

Several other research firms have also issued reports on MBIN. Raymond James reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $53.00 price objective (up previously from $50.00) on shares of Merchants Bancorp in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Piper Sandler increased their price objective on shares of Merchants Bancorp from $52.50 to $56.50 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 30th.

Merchants Bancorp Stock Performance

Shares of MBIN opened at $37.90 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.40, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a current ratio of 1.15. The company has a market capitalization of $1.74 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 6.01 and a beta of 1.16. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $39.83 and its 200 day simple moving average is $40.82. Merchants Bancorp has a 1 year low of $34.16 and a 1 year high of $53.27.

Merchants Bancorp (NASDAQ:MBIN) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, February 3rd. The company reported $1.85 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.27 by $0.58. Merchants Bancorp had a net margin of 22.08% and a return on equity of 22.86%. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Merchants Bancorp will post 5.54 EPS for the current year.

Merchants Bancorp Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be paid a dividend of $0.10 per share. This represents a $0.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.06%. This is an increase from Merchants Bancorp’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.09. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 14th. Merchants Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio is 6.34%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Merchants Bancorp

In other news, insider Scott A. Evans sold 25,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, January 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $43.10, for a total value of $1,077,500.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 27,606 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,189,818.60. This trade represents a 47.52 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 39.70% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Merchants Bancorp

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Kestra Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in Merchants Bancorp in the 4th quarter valued at about $25,000. Cubist Systematic Strategies LLC acquired a new position in shares of Merchants Bancorp in the fourth quarter worth about $79,000. Bank of Jackson Hole Trust acquired a new stake in shares of Merchants Bancorp during the fourth quarter worth approximately $82,000. Matrix Trust Co boosted its holdings in shares of Merchants Bancorp by 730.8% during the fourth quarter. Matrix Trust Co now owns 2,642 shares of the company’s stock worth $96,000 after purchasing an additional 2,324 shares during the period. Finally, Tower Research Capital LLC TRC boosted its holdings in shares of Merchants Bancorp by 118.9% during the fourth quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 3,559 shares of the company’s stock worth $130,000 after purchasing an additional 1,933 shares during the period. 24.57% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Merchants Bancorp Company Profile

Merchants Bancorp operates as the diversified bank holding company in the United States. It operates through three segments: Multi-family Mortgage Banking, Mortgage Warehousing, and Banking. The Multi-family Mortgage Banking segment engages in the mortgage banking, which originates and services government sponsored mortgages, including bridge financing products to refinance, acquire, or reposition multi-family housing projects, and construction lending for multi-family and healthcare facilities.